The inaugural edition of The Midsummer Pop-up also marks the opening of Kotagiri’s newest cafe and bakery, Donnington Bakehouse. Much like an anti-café, the space is meant to be an alternative art space that is intended to serve as a catalyst for co-ideation and communication. “Donnington Bakehouse is based on the theme of farm-to-plate. We are looking at developing the café as a space to promote arts among the locals. It could be performing arts or an exhibition or collaborating with local entrepreneurs to provide a space for merchandise,” says owner Sangeetha Ramakrishnan. Hosting a three-day pop-up, the first of its kind in languid Kotagiri, the event will see multiple workshops conducted through the day alongside a glocalised special breakfast, lunch and dinner options set al fresco.
Indie bites
Available through all the three-days will be specialities from Chef Vishak Chandrasekaran’s pop-up kitchen. The Le Corden Bleu chef, who introduced Coimbatore to authentic French baking and desserts with his erstwhile V’s Cafe, will curate his entire menu based on local, non-commercial produce available in The Nilgiris. “People often associate The Nilgiris with vegetables like carrots, beans and cabbage and think that other produce is non-existent. My menu will be showcasing local fruit from orchards (the highlight of the dessert section), cheese from local cheesemakers and homemade sausages and meats,” shares Vishak. Try out the waffles with fruit, roast chicken salad and seared trout with tree tomatoes. Also, as part of the spread, stone-oven made sourdough bread and pizzas are on offer.
Rs 800 approximate cost for a meal.
Tangle with this
Starting on Friday, the workshop sessions will kickstart with an intensive three-hour Mini Zentangle Workshop by Coimbatore-based art collective The Inside Job. Lead by certified Zentangle teacher Vasudha Sridhar, the session which will follow a luncheon format will include learning to create six patterns, basic strokes, stroke correction, deconstruction and reconstruction of patterns. “There are processes and rituals to creating Zentangle patterns and this involves eight steps. This has meditative benefits,” explains Vasudha.
On April 13. From 1 pm to 5 pm.
Double bubble
The organic soap making workshop conducted by Coimbatore-based entrepreneur and artist Simran Wahan also aims at using Donnington Bakehouse’s farm-to-plate concept, with a couple of tweaks, of course. Working predominantly with herbs picked out from the organic garden at Donnington’s, the session will include creating herb-infused oil soaps at the four-hour workshop. “Participants can walk out into the garden and pick out from the lemongrass, lavender, basil and rosemary herbs and choose the main herb that they will use in the soap,” shares the owner of the Amaya Store.
On April 14. From 11 am to 3 pm.
Thread bare
The third-day workshop will feature a Toda embroidery class by a Toda local, Deva Kili. “Participants will learn to make little knick-knacks like pouches and bags with the traditional red and black embroidery,” says Sangeetha.
On April 15. 11 am to 3 pm.
Individual workshops priced at Rs 1,500 (inclusive of materials and lunch).